My blog featuring my "Gastar" series of novellas along with other fun articles/reviews in dark fantasy and other genres

C.C.Cole

author C.C.Cole's blog

Saturday, June 30, 2012

On the Inspiration of Current Events

The United States Supreme Court

Most of the time, Dark
Fantasy to me is a takeaway from the perplexing issues of today’s world.In our 24/7 news cycle, the never-ending
analysis, re-hashing, and sensationalism make me open my computer or e-reader to
find something about a fierce knight rubbing out an army of evil skeletons
while riding a dragon.If I’m having a
migraine, I prefer a biography or a classic to read to give me a break. While
it’s perilous as an adult to keep one’s head in the sand, to get relief in a
good book or writing gives me enough of a break to refuel for the everyday
stressors.

Question:Do current events inspire we new
authors?Answer:Potentially.Some say WWII inspired Tolkien.(Quite a Current Event!)I do
believe that all writing is in part a summation of the writer’s life journey,
based on the knowledge, experience and imagination. Knowledge arises from
school, research, and self-education.Imagination arises from our gray matter.But experience arises only from life itself and no other way.

Question:Do current events inspire Dark Fantasy?Answer:Not directly.I don’t create
fictional characters from world leaders or politicians, though some writers
may, I just haven’t seen it.But to say
today’s world doesn’t affect me at all would surely be closing my mind
away.In the fortunate times to live in
a free society, we writers can create what we want, when we want, and these
days, publish when we want.That alone is an inspiration in its own way.

Question:Do current events distract we new
authors?Answer:Yes, if attention is paid to the news, but
with so much “news” it’s almost a numbing effect.Some days I feel like a glass of water
overflowing, so I slam it shut and let nothing else in.I try to take some time and process what is
being told to me by others.With so much
opinion immersed in a small amount of fact, I prefer to think about the news
and make up my own mind.

Question:Do I turn off the news when I’m settling down
to write?Answer:Yes.One of the best habits I’ve gained lately is to turn off the Internet
and TV, sit and either write or read.Sometimes an “Internet Holiday” isn’t a bad thing.As writers, we need time to process the many
distractions in our minds, to organize our thoughts into our work.Some day’s current events hit us harder than
others, or close to home.To state the
obvious, every person, writer or not, has his/her individual set of distractions,
from family to occupation to nationality.

New authors, current events
are part of our lives.We can’t stop
time.The longer we live the more events
we see and experience.We add these
experiences to our thoughts and cannot erase them.The summation makes up a part of who we are.

2 comments:

I agree; I think it's impossible *not* to be inspired by events happening around us. Culture makes us who we are, inspires our values, what we want to talk about and what we're willing to fight for. It's impossible to divorce yourself from it.